Always him
by Taateli
Summary: What happened to Ianto after The House of the Dead? There will be spoilers of Miracle Day eventually.
1. Goodbyes

**My very first fanfiction! I'm terrified and happy at the same time! Sorry if there's any misspelling. English is not my motherlanguage, so please be gantle on me!**

...

"You did the right thing son." Thaddeus said as he stared at the shattering pub with Ianto. "You would have disappeared."

"Yes. I know." Ianto responded and sighed before he continued. "You should go now before the rift sucks you too."

Thaddeus turned to look his son. "What are you planning to do?"

"I…I can't just leave him, dad." Ianto felt tears rising to his eyes. "He seemed so lonely and…" His voice broke and he lowered his head to look at the bomb, heavy in his hands. "This, dad, this is my last change to be by his side again. It may not work. I just have this hunch, that maybe the rift can't be sealed completely. Maybe it will explode to the other side, I don't know." He wiped the tears away and turned to look at his father. "But what's the worst thing that could happen? I'm already dead you know." Ianto tried to smile but failed.

Thaddeus looked at his son and slowly nodded. He knew how he felt and there was nothing he could do to stop him now. The time was running out.

"Okay. I'm proud of you, son." Ianto looked surprised but nodded. There was nothing to say. It didn't matter anymore. Thaddeus reached out his hand and tapped Ianto's shoulder. "Well then, goodbye."

"Goodbye dad." Ianto felt tears streaming down his face. "Please say hello to mum and Lisa for me. And… to Tosh and Owen." Thaddeus smiled and nodded before he disappeared.

Ianto stared at the space where his father had stood before he turned to look at the bomb once again. He wiped his face and sent a little prayer. To who? He didn't know. Maybe to Jack. Maybe to Jack's Doctor. It didn't really matter. He just hoped that someone would hear it.

Ianto took a deep breath…

…and pushed the button.

...

First thing he felt was a horrible headache.

Then he felt cold and hard floor under him.

Next thing he recalled was that his knees were sore, probably covered with bruisers.

Over all he didn't feel like a dead man at all. That's when he felt the courage to open up his eyes.

First thing he saw was a bright light, shining right into his eyes. Ianto grumbled and covered his eyes with his hand. His headache was unbearable. Ianto tried to remember what was the last thing he had done? Then he remembered Jack's tear filled eyes and a horrible feeling like suffocating. The Thames house. But there was something more, a strange feeling like something had happened after that. A button. He remembered looking at a bomb. Yes, that was it. The most haunted pub on Wales! He had pushed the button and hoped that he would survive and here he was. Breathing and feeling quite normal if the headache didn't count. But where exactly was here?

Ianto slowly sat up and looked around. He was at a long corridor which seemed to go on forever. He saw no windows so it was impossible to determinate was it day or night or was he at Earth at all. The ceiling was high and round lamps lighted the hallway. A light hum seemed to go on and off every two minutes, probably air-conditioning.

Ianto tried to stand up but everything started to spin around him. He searched support from a wall and tried not to throw up. The feeling passed away quickly. He shook his head and tried to gather his thoughts. Somehow his touch made the wall transparent, like a small window appearing to it. Ianto quickly withdrew away from it but when he saw what was out there, he slowly walked back. Staring out of the window, not quite believing what he saw. He was in space, or to be exact in a spaceship.

"Just my luck…" He whispered to himself as he stared outside. Slowly he lifted his hand to touch the window. At the same time his fingertips brushed the cold glass the window disappeared again, leaving only solid wall to its place.

Where the hell was he?

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

A very familiar voice, which send shivers down his spine (and not in a good way) echoed through the hall.

"Shit."


	2. Deal

"Exterminate!"

Ianto was stunned. Of all the places on the universe he had to end up at a Dalek's ship. Shit shit shit!

Suddenly he saw someone running around a corner at the end of the hallway. Ianto couldn't believe it. But it had to be him! He looked the same and ran just like him. And his voice…

"Run!" The man shouted as he was coming closer. Ianto didn't move. He was shocked and at the same time so relieved.

"Jack?" He muttered as the man, who now looked little different than Jack but still was clearly Jack, ran… right past him. Wait. What?

Ianto just stared as Jack kept running along the corridor not even glancing behind to see if Ianto was following him or not.

"Exterminate!" Ianto turned to look at the other end of the hallway where Jack had come from and saw three Daleks heading his way.

"Shit!" Ianto ran after Jack as fast as he could. But where did he go? He couldn't see Jack anymore. The corridor seemed to go on forever so where had he disappeared?

"Jack? Jack!" No answer. "Shit! Jack where are you!"

He could hear that the Daleks were catching up with him but then he saw a door. Or at least it looked like a door but with no handle. Not thinking twice Ianto ran towards it and the door slid out of his way. He still didn't saw Jack. Dammit. If he couldn't find him he was going to be killed for sure. He wasn't thinking how Jack could stop the Daleks. He just wanted to be with him and everything would be alright.

"Jack!" He called again and suddenly someone grabbed his arm and pulled him into a very tiny room and slammed the door shut behind him.

"Hush." Ianto was faced by Jack who was holding a finger against his lips. Expect Jack looked different. He had shorter haircut and different clothing. Gone was the greatcoat. Up close Ianto could see that Jack looked a little bit younger too.

They stood like that for a while. Both tense, waiting for the Daleks to find them. But when they heard nothing Jack relaxed and turned to look at Ianto properly. "Hi! My name is Captain Jack Harkness."

Ianto just stared.

"What? You can't speak? Pardon me but I could hear you shouting at my name just fine back there." Jack was smiling his trademark grin and his fifty-first phenomena's were filling Ianto's nose making it hard to concentrate.

"Ummm. Yeah, right. I'm Jones, Ianto Jones, sir." 'Sir' just slipped through his mouth.

"Nice to meet you Jones, Ianto Jones." Jack grinned. "I would shake your hand but this space is pretty small for that." There were only few centimeters between them. They were probably at some sort of cleaner's cupboard.

"Does Daleks clean?" Ianto asked amused.

Jack laughed. "No I don't think so but that would look hilarious." He seemed to think for a while before he continued. "As we are here..." Jack closed the space between them. "…we could spend some time together." His lips were almost touching Ianto's. Ianto felt dizzy. His head felt like exploding again and the room started to spin. He started to fall.

"Steady there!" Jack gripped Ianto before he could fall to the floor. "Never that happened before, must be my charm." Ianto managed to roll his eyes for an answer. The room started to slow down again. "Well, first time for everything. We should go back and finish the job."

Finish the job? Jack put his arms around Ianto's waist and started to tap his wristband.

"Back to Earth?" Jack answered something but Ianto couldn't hear him anymore. A flash of light had appeared around them and he felt like he was in amusement park's worst device ever. Everything was spinning. Weird noses reached his ears somewhere. Sometimes he felt like someone was talking but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He tried to concentrate to Jack's grip around him. Then everything stopped and he felt steady ground under his foot and then he threw up.

"Oh shit!" Jack stepped away from him, vomit all over his clothes. Ianto wiped his mouth and tried to keep himself up.

"Sorry about that." Ianto found a wall to lean on.

Jack shrugged. "Don't worry about that. It happens to everyone at the first time. You okay?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute." Ianto closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing.

"Maybe we should go to my apartment and clean up?" Jack suggested and came to lean next to Ianto.

"You have an apartment?"

"Of course I do." Ianto could hear that Jack was smiling.

"Okay." He opened his eyes and smiled back.

….

Ianto felt like laughing. The way to Jacks flat was surreal. They were clearly not on Earth. The architecture was similar and the streets were fool of pubs and humans. The odd thing was the aliens, chatting and drinking just like humans. And the sky seemed to change color from blue to red almost every minute and it had two moons. When they had reached the building where Jack lived Ianto started to wonder what kind of flat he had. He imagined a tiny dark room with only a bed and one desk. Or maybe it was more like a hub itself, full of electric stuff and all. Of all the things he thought he wasn't prepared for this:

Jack's flat was normal or as normal as can be. There was a separate bathroom and normal sized bedroom with windows. Kitchen was small but still there and in the living room was sofa and couple of chairs. The only same thing from Ianto's imagination was the mess. There were clothes and other stuff everywhere. The kitchen was full of plates and mugs and weird machines. You couldn't sit on the sofa because the clothes had taken it over. Windows had never been washed, you could barely see through them.

"Sorry about the mess, I'm not really a cleaning type." Jack grinned and headed to the bathroom not closing the door behind him. Ianto just nodded and tried not to laugh. Of all the places he saw at the way on here, this was most surreal of all. He heard the shower turning on. Ianto managed to find the sofa under all that clothing and sat down. Finally he had some time to think.

So, apparently he had met past Jack. Jack, who still worked for the time agency. Jack, who hadn't met the Doctor yet. Jack, who wasn't immortal. Ianto took a deep breath. This was complicated. Jack had never mentioned to him that they had met in his past. Maybe he couldn't even remember. What about the Dalek's ship then? They had just left them be. Weren't they dangerous to the whole universe or something? Why had Jack been there at the first place? His head started to hurt again.

"Can I ask you something?" Ianto was startled out of his thoughts. He turned to look Jack who had only towel around his waist and couldn't help to stare at his body. "Like the view?" Ianto blushed and looked away. Jack headed to the bedroom self-centric grin on his face.

"Was that your question?" Ianto called after him.

"No. I'm just curious to know, how did you know my name?"

"You told me?" Ianto rubbed his temples.

"No, _before_ I told you my name." Jack was now standing at the bedroom door fully clothed. Ianto had never figured out how he managed to dress up so quickly. Or how did he undress even faster.

"Oh that." He tried to think for some excuse but his mind was stuck. "Lucky guess?" Of course Jack didn't buy it. He looked doubtful. Ianto tried harder but came up with nothing. He needed to buy more time.

"Okay, I'll tell you if you explain some things to me first. Deal?" He offered his hand to Jack.

"Deal." Jack took it.


	3. Interrogation

"What were you doing at the Dalek's ship?"

Jack looked surprised.

"So, you don't know?"

"No. How should I?"

"I was there to rescue you of course." Jack looked proud of himself.

"Rescue me?" Ianto didn't get it. "How did you know I was there?"

"Obviously your pal came to the time agency and paid a huge sum of money for me to get you out of there."

"My pal? Who was that?" Jack sighed and came to sit beside him.

"I don't know. Honestly. I never met him. I just got the orders and the money just appeared to my bank account. It's very common at this job." Jack took a good look at Ianto. The man was quite young and handsome. He had beautiful blue colored eyes and his haircut pleased Jack. His clothing was bothering him though. Jack swore he had saw something like it before, maybe during his training period? Ianto looked also pale and tired.

"You should really go get a shower. We can talk about this later." Jack winked and fetched Ianto a towel.

"Sure." Ianto took the offered towel and went to the bathroom. He wondered when the towel had last been washed but it smelled decent enough and it was good enough for him. Ianto was sure he wouldn't find any cleaner towel anywhere.

...

Jack stared after Ianto for a while. He felt like he knew that man from somewhere before. Maybe he had been a one night stand. He smirked. Well that man was pretty good looking. Maybe they could have some fun soon.

He made his way to the kitchen and searched for something to eat. Nothing. "Figures." He muttered and decided to order something. But something kept bothering him.

...

Ianto dressed his old suit back on. He figured that Jack didn't have anything cleaner to put on. The suit he had died on. The tough made Ianto's stomach twist. When he was pulling his trousers on he felt something in his pocket. He took it out and examined it. A taught came to his mind. Yes, with this he would be able to tell Jack who he really was and maybe he would help him get back home. He put it back to his pocket.

Ianto took a deep breath and stepped out from the bathroom. He had been going on and on about the conversation he was going to have with Jack. He wasn't sure if his plan would work but he hoped for the best. He needed to get back on Earth though he was scared what to expect when he get there.

"Hello Eye candy." Ianto froze. No, it hadn't been John who said that. It had been Jack.

"What did you just call me?" He raised his eyebrows to him.

"You don't like it?" Jack was now sitting at a small table and eating something that looked like rise and fish.

"No. I don't like it very much. Someone I once knew called me that. It was annoying."

"Really? Your ex-lover perhaps?" Ianto snorted. "Is it my turn to ask you something now?" Jack said mouth full of food. Typical Jack.

"I guess." Ianto sat opposite Jack and shook his head when Jack offered him a plate full of that same rise and fishy thing.

"So here goes. What were _you_ doing at that Dalek's ship? And how the hell you managed to survive in there? I mean, when I arrived there I was surrounded by Daleks. I had to fire a pretty big bomb so they wouldn't shoot me right away." Jack laughed and stuffed more rise to his mouth.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know." Jack looked puzzled. "I can guess that I came through the rift or something. I had only arrived there short while ago before you came running down the hall." Ianto smiled and Jack found himself smiling back.

"Through the rift? Interesting." Now Jack sipped something blue from his glass. Ianto made a face. "What?"

"What is that?"

"This?" Jack lifted his glass and Ianto nodded. "You mean, you have never drink lemonade?"

"Oh, that's lemonade?" Welshman looked surprised and laughed.

"You seemed quite amazed when we walked out there." Jack pointed out the window. Ianto looked outside and tried to see something through the glass. "Where are you from?"

There it was. The question he had been waiting for. He looked at Jack and smiled to him. Here goes:

"I'm from Earth." Ianto followed Jack reaction but he wasn't surprised.

"From what, 20th century? I mean your suit looks like that times fashion. I finally figured it out." Jack smiled.

"Actually 21st."

"Really. I thought suits were only some sort of party clothing at that time." Ianto couldn't help but smile. He never would have imagined that Jack hadn't known what a suit was.

"No, not actually party clothing but you are getting there. And well, my dad was a tailor so he taught me something about suits."

"What does a tailor do?" Jack looked truly interested.

"He umm measures people's body measurements and makes a fitting suit for them." Jack was nodding now. "I started to wear suits more often when well… you told me I looked good on those." Ianto was blushing now but kept his gaze at Jack. He wanted to see how he reacted. Jack face lit up.

"That's how you knew my name! We have met before! Oh, sorry, I can't remember you." Ianto sighed this was going to be more complicated than he thought.

"No, no… we haven't met before or you haven't met me."

"So, we are going to meet at the future?" They were both silent for a moment, lost in thoughts. Jack was first to speak: "So you got sucked up by a rift from Earth and you landed to the Dalek's ship?"

"Yes. That's about it." Ianto nodded. "Now it's my turn to ask. What happened to the Daleks? I mean you wouldn't just have leaved them there if they wouldn't be destroyed, right?"

Jack looked confused. "Of course I would. I mean they kill with one zap! No one can destroy them."

"But, they are dangerous! Their only purpose is to kill. If we just leave them there they will destroy the next planet they bump into." Why did Jack look so unconcerned?

"Yeah, but it's not my fight." Jack just lifted his shoulders and kept eating. Ianto frowned. Maybe Jack had changed after he met the Doctor. His Jack would never run away. Would he?

"Anyway, we were at the year 200,000 and near the Satellite 5. I've heard that the Daleks are going to be destroyed by some unknown power." Jack swallowed the last piece of his food.

Satellite 5? That's where Jack died for the first time. So Rose defeated the Daleks. He felt relieved.

"Are you going to eat that?" Jack pointed at Ianto's plate. He shook his head. The other man took the plate and started to eat it too. Ianto was hungry but not that hungry.

"My turn now. When do we meet? Am I old and grey headed or looking as dashing as ever, or maybe both?"

Ianto shrugged. "Yes, as dashing as you are now."

"So in the near future? I look forward to that." Jack winked at him.


	4. Couple

**Another chapter! I hope I didn't make Jack too mellow or something. I'm afraid you have to wait the next chapter about a week or so. I need to watch the Miracle Day through. It's been a little dissapointing. Thanks for the feedback!**

...

"That hit the spot!" Jack had just finished Ianto's plate and was stretching at his bench. Ianto felt tired. His head had started to pound again. "You want to go to bed? Sorry, but I only have one cause the sofa is full." Jack looked devious.

"I don't mind that but if you are thinking what I think you are… I am really tired." Jack tried to look innocent.

Ianto just smiled and got up. Jack followed his example.

"So, you have met me before." Jack was grinning slyly and walked slowly towards Ianto. "Did we do anything special?" He raised his eyebrows at him. Ianto couldn't help but smile. He wanted to be close to him but he knew that this Jack wasn't the same. Jack was now standing just inches away from him. His 51st phenomenon were filling Ianto's nostrils and making him dizzy.

"Well, we did do some… things." Ianto couldn't resist him anymore. He leaned in and kissed Jack with all he got. Jack pulled him closer putting his arms against his shoulders and started to back off to the bedroom.

Ianto pushed Jack to the bed and hastily removed his waistcoat. Jack sat up and took Ianto's lips against his. Ianto ran his fingers through Jacks, way too short, hair and behind his ear and bit the other man's bottom lip at the same time. It was a habit of his and he knew that Jack loved it.

"How did you do that?" Jack pulled back and looked Ianto with disbelieve.

"You liked it?"

"Hell yeah!" Jack was grinning like a mad man.

"Don't complain then."

Somehow Ianto ended up under Jack, his tie and shirt removed. Jack was kissing his neck now and slowly made his way down.

A thought crossed Ianto's mind as Jack was sucking his nipple. "How old are you?" Jack lifted his head up and kissed Ianto.

"26. Why?" Ianto couldn't help it, laughter escaped through his lips. "What? What so funny about it?" Jack was smiling and tried to search something from Ianto's face.

"I'm sorry. It's nothing." Ianto pulled Jack to a kiss again but he was still smiling. Jack was the same age as he was! They were the same age and having sex in Jacks apartment! It felt surreal and absolutely amusing.

But when Jack got back to his work Ianto soon forgot everything about the number twenty-six.

...

Later on Jack woke up curled by Ianto's side and his head on the other man's chest. That's weird, normally he didn't like affection after sex but now he felt comfortable. He could hear Ianto's heartbeat against his ear and feel his slow breathing. Jack slowly sat up careful not to wake the other man. He looked at Ianto's peaceful face and he had this weird hunch again. What was it? He met this man only twenty hours ago. Suddenly he felt distressed. He couldn't breathe properly. He needed to get away from this room as fast as he could.

So Jack dressed his clothes and ran away.

...

Ianto was surprised to see that he was feeling just fine when he woke up. He didn't feel like throwing up anymore and the headache was gone. He turned around to look at Jack but the other side of the bed was empty.

"No way…." He jumped out of the bed and hastily dressed up. Where the hell did Jack go? He couldn't just leave him here! He needed to get back to Earth. Maybe he should have told Jack everything last night but he was just so tired and distracted.

Ianto ran out of the bedroom and stopped. Where would he go to search for Jack? He didn't even know what planet he was in. How could he possible find him outside? Ianto ran hand throw his hair and cursed to himself. How could he be so stupid? He knew just well that he would be just a one night stand to Jack. He probably thought that Ianto would be gone by the time he would come back home. A realization came to him. He was at Jack's flat and he would be back! The only thing he had to do was wait for him to return. Ianto looked around. But what the hell would he do in the meantime?

...

By the end of the day Jack was a bit drunk and struggling to get his key to fit to his lock. He hoped that he wouldn't have to confront that man again. He made him feel confused. Finally the key turned and he was able to open the door.

"What the…?" Jack's mouth hanged open as he gazed his apartment. Or at least it was supposed to be his, but how could it be? He could see the floor and the windows were clean. There were no clothes at the sofa and all the dirty dishes had been washed. How could this have happened?

"Welcome home." Jack turned around and saw Ianto standing there smiling to his shocked expression. "It took me five hours, twenty three minutes and fifteen seconds to clean this mess up." Something clicked on Ianto's hand.

"What is that? No. Answer me this first: What are you still doing here? I don't own you anything." Jack sat to the sofa and huffed.

"Well no, you don't own me anything… yet, but you will in the future. So I kind of need your help again." Ianto seemed to think hard. "I remember this one time when you taped something on the SUV's side mirror and I had to clean it up. It was hell. You promised to make it up to me, but you never did." He was smiling now.

"What are you talking about?" Jack was so confused now.

"Okay. I was planning to tell you a lot of things yesterday but I was too tired." Ianto sat opposite Jack to one of the armchairs.

A thought occurred Jack's mind. "'Sir.'"

"What?" Ianto frowned.

"You called me sir back at the ship. It's been bothering me ever since. Why?" Jack leaned forward.

Ianto looked down for a moment before he turned his gaze back to Jack. "Because you were the head of Torchwood. I guess you have heard of that before, haven't you?"

Jack was thinking. "Yeah, back at my training period. It was some sort of company on Earth which was fixated on alien threat and technology."

"Something like that." Ianto smiled.

"So you mean, I'm going to go to Earth and become its leader? Why the hell would I do that? And why are you telling me this?" Jack was getting suspicious. "I'm not supposed to know about my future."

"When have you ever cared about that?" Ianto laughed. "Well you stayed there because you wanted to meet someone, someone really important to you."

"Did I found him… or her?"

"Yes, eventually, but then you came back."

"What for? I've been an Earth once before and believe me it's not that amazing." Jack shook his head. He couldn't but think that this man was lying to him.

Ianto seemed to think. "For me." He finally said and stared to Jack intensively.

Jack didn't look away. "Are you trying to get me to trust you?"

Ianto could see that Jack doubted him. "Actually, yes I am." He sighed. "I need you to get me back on Earth."

"I can't take you back there." Jack sounded angry. "It's against the rules and I can't afford to take that risk to lose my job."

"Because of your brother?"

Jack flinched. "How do you..?"

"Yes, I know about him. Actually I've met him, but believe me you can't find him through the time agency."

Jack was shocked. All these years he had been looking for his little brother and told no one about it. No, he had told someone. "John! It was John who told you, didn't he?!" Jack was furious. He had trusted his past to his partner during their two weeks' time loop and now he was telling it around to some strangers.

Ianto was getting annoyed. He never thought telling the truth would be so complicated. "No, Jack, I've met John Hart once but he wasn't the one telling me about your brother." Actually John was the first one to mention him, but Ianto wasn't going to tell that to Jack.

"Oh yeah? Then who the hell was it? He has been telling it around, right?"

"Okay, then think about this Jack: I bet you never told John what your brother looked like?" Ianto raised an eyebrow to him. "Because I know he had same brown hair as you do, but curlier. He had same colored eyes and same shaped nose." Telling the truth, Ianto had never really paid much attention to Gray's eye color, but he could guess.

Jack went silent. He wasn't looking at Ianto anymore. He just stared to his hands. "Was he…" Ianto could hear Jack sniffle. "Was he angry?" He lifted his gaze to Ianto, eyes filled with tears.

Ianto didn't know what to answer. "Yes…yes he was, but…" He gulped. "He forgave you. He's going to forgive you Jack." He smiled to Jack and tried to keep his own tears at bay. He couldn't tell the truth. He wanted to believe that after Gray died he would have understood his older brother.

Jack just nodded and blinked his tears away. "How long have I known you?"

"A little over two years."

Jack looked out of the window. "Okay, I do it."

"What?"

"I'll take you to Earth." He turned to Ianto again. "I don't know why I feel like I trust you because we met only yesterday but I still am."

Ianto just nodded.

"Tell me something." Jack seemed to be uncomfortable.

"What?"

"Where am I, back at Earth? Still your leader or something?"

Ianto was silent for a while. "To be honest, I don't know."

"Oh… so we are still… you know… a couple?"

Ianto started to laugh.

"What? Why are you laughing again?" Jack was getting angry again.

"Sorry, I'm not laughing to you, it's just…" He cleared his through. "Yeah, you could say that we are a couple." Ianto was blushing.

Jack smiled.


	5. Flavour

**I'm so ashamed to post this chapter years too late but here it is anyway. So sorry people! I've also updaited the previous chapters. Just a little spelling corrections and few addition.  
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...

"Ready?" Jack asked and looked at Ianto.

Ianto took a deep breath and nodded, getting ready for the awful feeling that would come when they would travel through time. "Ready."

They stood in the middle of market square, people and alien bustling around them. Jack had told Ianto that they couldn't leave from his apartment because otherwise time agency would figure out much easier that he had used the vortex manipulator without their permission, which was strictly forbidden.

"Take a good hold on to me then." Jack winked and Ianto rolled his eyes at him, but obeyed and took a tight grip from his arm. "Here we go."

The same nauseating feeling washed down on Ianto as they took off. They kept on spinning and noises grew louder and louder. Then Ianto made out one word from the endless stream of noises: Miracle. It was a man's voice but after that the noses quiet down again and he felt ground again. This time Ianto felt like throwing up again. He saw a railing and water behind it, quickly making his way to it and throwing up but nothing came out because he hadn't eaten in hours.

"You lied." He managed to whisper between coughing.

"Yeah I did. It doesn't get any easier at the second time." Jack grinned apologetic at him.

Ianto looked at the blue water below him and felt like he had never seen it before. It felt so good. Slowly he straightened himself and turned around to look at their surroundings. His heart jumped up when he recognized Cardiff and surely enough they were right in front of the tourist information. Ianto held back the urge to run pass the door and check if the hub had been rebuilt.

"We're on the right place." Ianto smiled at Jack who just huffed at him.

"Of course we are. What did you except?"

"Sorry… I meant to say: thanks." Ianto started to feel like a normal human being again and walked away from the railing. "Earth, two thousand and eleven. It's good to be home."

Ianto walked to the plass just to take it all in. People were walking around, busy with their everyday life. Ianto couldn't be happier. A little over six months had passed since his death. A year had changed and he had missed it all but he couldn't cross his and Jack's timeline. Although he had done it already.

Jack hovered behind him, staring at his back with sad expression. "I… should probably go now."

Ianto turned around to look at him. He couldn't let Jack leave yet. "Would you like some coffee?" He quickly asked.

"No thanks, I've had coffee and it's not anything special." Jack shook his head and started to tap some coordinates to his vortex manipulator.

"Not Earth's coffee." Ianto smiled mischievously at him. He had seen so called coffee beans at the market square before they had left and they didn't look anything like real coffee beans.

Jack stopped his tapping and looked up at Ianto before smirking. "Why not, if you treat."

"Of course." Ianto said, quickly checking his pocket which still held a few bills which he had been carrying around before his death. "Wait here." He started to walk away from the plass.

...

Jack sat down to the nearest bench and looked around: the city was pretty but awfully dull. There were only humans around and he couldn't picture himself living among them. And what was with that technology? He couldn't understand how anyone had survived with so little. Then he started to think about his childhood: there was not much ether. He had born in a poor family but it hadn't been a problem. He had loved his life the fullest since the attack and the loss of his brother and father. Jack realized that he had been focusing to the wrong things for the last couple of years. He hadn't been searching for his brother as actively as before. For three years he had examined every clue and spent all his days trying to search a job which would lead him to Gray, but in vain. He had slowly lost his goal and started to do whatever the time agency had given him and at the same time gave up on his search for his brother. Jack felt guilty and at that moment he wanted nothing more to get back home and start looking for him again, but Ianto cut his train of thoughts.

"Here you go." Ianto handed a take away cup to Jack who took it with a tiny smile. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I just got lost in memories, that's all." Jack quickly forced a grin to his face. It didn't fool Ianto but the other man didn't want to press him. Jack took a sip from his cup and browsed the taste in his mouth.

"Sorry it's only Starbucks coffee. I couldn't get my hands on anything better." Ianto examined Jack's reaction closely.

"It's better than I thought it would be. Quite… bitter." Jack took another sip. "Is this poisonous?"

"Huh?" Ianto looked alarmed.

"You're not drinking yours." Jack nodded towards the full cup on Ianto's hands and the man laughed nervously and quickly drank from it. Ianto had remembered that the coffee tasted awful but now it tasted okay. Maybe dying changes sense of taste.

"What is next for you?" Jack inquired.

"I don't think I should tell you much."

"You're going to search the future me?"

"I'll try." Ianto answered, fearing that he might not find the future Jack. It was reassuring to be around the younger version of Jack. He wished that the man could stay until Ianto had found his Jack again, but knew it was impossible.

Jack drank the last of the coffee. He had hated it but finished it to please Ianto. Jack was surprised of his own action. Normally he would've just spitted the stuff out not thinking what the others would think.

"Time to go now." He started to get up but his vision blurred so suddenly that he had to sit down again.

"You okay?" He heard Ianto ask from somewhere close. Jack started to see again but fatigue had taken over him.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit…" Jack laughed. "We had a rough night, didn't we?"

There was a glint of amusement in Ianto's eyes but it soon disappeared. "I'm sorry." The man whispered and Jack felt a kiss on the side of his mouth.

"What are you talking…" His voice started to blur and he started to panic. "Did you really poison me?"

"Of course not…" Ianto started but Jack had already jumped up and stared down at him with disbelief.

"What did you do then? Tell me!"

Ianto got up as well and placed his hands on Jack's shoulders. The man tried to move away from him but his balance wavered. Ianto tightened his hold so that Jack wouldn't fall over. "Jack, listen to me." He waited for Jack to look him in the eye. "I put some retcon to your coffee."

Ianto hadn't known if Jack knew what retcon was but the look of hatred gave him the answer. "I'm so sorry. I really am but I had to do it. You're going to forget two years of your life."

"No…" Jack gasped and tried once again to move away from Ianto but he had no strength.

"Two years, otherwise you won't leave the time agency and we'll never meet." Ianto had thought so hard how he would explain it to Jack but at that moment nothing seemed good enough. Two years was awfully long time and Ianto hated himself for taking that away from Jack but he was sure that it was the only right thing to do. "I really am sorry." Ianto felt his eyes getting moist as he tried to keep himself calm.

"I…" Jack tried to form all the hatred he felt towards Ianto to words but his mind wouldn't work. His eyes started to close and his legs gave in. Ianto quickly caught Jack's limb body and lowered them to the ground. "I don't want to forget."

"We'll meet again. I promise." Ianto tried to reassure him.

Jack's eyes shut but he still heard Ianto's last apology and a soft kiss to his lips before giving up on sleep.

...

Jack woke up to the most horrible hangover in years. Or in days, it hadn't been that long since he had last felt like this. Only odd thing was that he was lying in a dirty ground and saw a pair of black shoes before him.

"You okay?"

Jack looked up to a quite handsome young man who looked worriedly down at him. His voice was rough and his eyes were red, maybe someone who was having the same feeling as he had.

"Yeah, I will be, just a little too much to drink last night." Jack mumbled as he sat up and looked around. "Where am I?"

"Earth, two thousand and ten." The man said and helped Jack to get up on his feet.

"Earth? Never been here before." Jack paused and looked at the stranger. "I mean, never been sleeping… here… on Earth." The man seemed to accept his lousy explanation and dusted Jack's coat clean.

"Good as new. You can get home by yourself?"

"I think so." Jack smiled sheepishly at him. The man had pretty eyes and a nice haircut. His clothes were weird but showed his body nicely. "Jack" He stated only his first name like he always used to at missions.

The man seemed to be taken a back a bit but shook his hand quickly. "Jones… Owen Jones."

"Nice to meet you Jones, Owen Jones. You are quite handsome if I may say." Jack flashed his trade mark grin and Owen gave him a shy smile back.

"I should be going. Good to know you're okay. Have a nice day." Owen said politely and started to walk away.

"You too." Jack called after him and stayed to observe the man's backside until he was too far away. Jack felt an odd feeling inside his stomach and he had no clue where it had emerged. Maybe he had drank a ulcer to himself. Wouldn't have been the first time. Jack tried to remember why he was at Earth in the first place but nothing came to mind. Maybe he had been just drinking with John and the idiot had left without him, again. He checked his vortex manipulator and in his delight he had already set coordinates back home. He didn't bother to check the year before disappearing to the time.

...

Ianto felt Jack's gaze at him when he walked away. He had thought of leaving before Jack woke up but decided to stay behind to check if he was okay and that no one would steal his stuff. It would've been a disaster if a local teenager got his hands on the vortex manipulator and Ianto would be stuck with two Jack's at the same timeline. Ianto wanted to look behind him, to see if Jack was still there looking at him but he managed to walk all the way to the millennium center before turning around. Jack was gone. He felt lonely and terrified but he was still back at home. It didn't take long for him to panic thought when he saw a man reading a newspaper so close to him that he managed to read the front page. The headline itself: Miracle is over, didn't catch his attention but the date of the paper: 18th of September 2011. Ianto felt like passing out. He was over a half a year late.


	6. Blood

**I decided to post the next chapter today as well, just to make up the long wait. I'll try to upload the upcoming chapters once a week!**

...

Ianto panicked. His plan was to go to the haunted pub and trace Jack down from there but now everything had changed. The younger Jack had taken him in over half a year earlier and Jack could've gone anywhere in Earth or space. He might've even moved on and now Ianto was here, ripping the wounds open all over again. He felt awful.

Ianto calmed down only when he saw the man with the newspaper look at him oddly. It was no surprise: he must've stared at the paper's front page for the last five minutes. Ianto quickly gave the man a tiny smile before starting to walk away. He had no idea where he was going until he found himself standing in front of Gwen and Rhys's house. He wasn't sure how Gwen would react when she saw her dead friend at her doorsteps but there was no one else to go to. Ianto took a deep breath and walked inside, hesitating at Gwen's door before pressing the doorbell. Ianto mulled the words he would use in his head so that she wouldn't shoot his head off right away. A forever seemed to pass before he heard shuffling coming from inside.

A woman opened the door but it certainly wasn't Gwen. She had long blond hair and was a little over weighting. At first he just stared at the woman who looked him up and down, trying to figure out what he was selling.

"Can I help you?"

"Sorry… is Gwen Cooper here?" Ianto glanced behind her but saw no Gwen or Rhys.

"Who?" The woman frowned. It was obvious she didn't have any idea who Ianto was talking about.

"Ah, wrong door! Sorry about the disturbance." Ianto quickly stuttered before turning and almost ran down the stairs.

Ianto stood outside the house again. He was completely lost. There was no one else he could try to contact. There was Andy Davidson but Ianto didn't trust him enough even though he knew Gwen would've. There were only few options: spend days or weeks without much money to try to find out Gwen's new address or go to his sister's house. Both options were equally undesirable.

…..

After weighing his options carefully for a good while, Ianto decided to visit his sister. He didn't really want to live under the bridge for the off chance to find out Gwen's new living area. She could be living anywhere over a year after his death or she might've even changed her name. There was still one place Ianto hadn't checked: Torchwood.

Ianto stood in front of the tourist office and only now noticed the three boards nailed to the door. A chill ran down his spine: it didn't look good. Fortunately the boards were little rotten under the merciless weather of Cardiff and the guy who had nailed those down had done a really poor job because Ianto managed to rip them away with his bare hands. Sure it took him a while but he still did it.

With scratched and bloodied hand he tried the handle and a smile appeared to his face when the door opened. A musty smell flushed over him when he stepped inside. A great pile of dust and spider webs covered everything. Otherwise the place looked exactly like he had remembered. Not a single item had been removed. Ianto quickly found what he was looking for: torch. He clicked it open and closed the outside door so no pass byers would get inside. The mechanism which opened the door to the lift still worked. Slowly Ianto made his way to the corridor, which had the same amount of dust and dirt on it. His heart beat fast and an uncomfortable feeling settled in his stomach. He checked if the lift worked, just in case, but nothing happened. He walked down the stairs and found the cog door leaning to the opposite wall. The heavy door was black on the other side and was bent from the middle. The explosion had been huge. Ianto moved his torch up and down the empty hub. The shell had been rebuilt but nothing else had been done. The rift manipulator was in its former place, still working even though there was no rift anymore. He guessed that the Unit had played it safe.

Standing there, in the middle of the hub, made Ianto feel tiny and more lonely than ever before. He felt the absence of his friends crushing down on him. There was no Tosh sitting on her computer, no Owen at his medical bay, no Gwen investigating a case and no Jack… no Jack at his office. All their personal stuff had been blown to pieces. The spirit which the hub used to have… gone.

…..

Rhiannon Davies was enjoying her free time. She had sent her kids to school two hours ago and Johnny was at work. Life was smiling on her and it was a rare thing for a woman who had lost her brother only a year earlier and she was taking all out of it. She sat down on the sofa and started to watch all the episodes she had missed from the soap opera she secretly loved. She remembered the one time Ianto had visited her during one of her watching sessions and had looked at her with his disbelief face that made her always defensive. She had tried to argue about the greatness of the show but Ianto had none of it. The memory maid her smile but it also made her sad. She glanced at the photo of his brother at the bookshelf but her trip down the memory lane was cut when the doorbell rang.

"Please, go away." She groaned to herself, sure that it was another salesman. They always managed to interrupt her television watching. Normally they went away after few rangs but this one was persistent. After the fifth rang Rhiannon gave up and walked to the door, ready to just shout at the guy that she wasn't buying anything and close the door at his face. But when she saw her little brother standing there her mind shut down.

"Hi, Rhi." Ianto managed to say before his sister passed out. "Okay… didn't expect that."

…..

Ianto eyed Rhiannon nervously from across the table. His sister seemed to be in shock. He had made them coffee but she had barely touched her mug.

"Was it all just some kind of scam?" Rhiannon finally spoke.

"No." Ianto sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I told you already I have no idea what's going on."

"You're lying to me." Rhiannon almost shouted at him. She was so confused but she knew when her brother didn't tell her everything he knew.

"Rhi, it's complicated. I can't explain it to you…"

"Try me." She sat back and crossed her arms, challenging Ianto with her stare. She still couldn't believe her eyes: her brother alive and well, talking and breathing. She was sure she was only having a vivid dream and would wake up soon or that she was hallucinating and when Johnny would walk in he would tell her he saw no one.

"I… We don't have time for this. Please, I need your help." Ianto tried to figure out a way to tell Rhiannon at least part of the truth so it wouldn't raise too many questions.

"Help? You've been gone over a year and then you suddenly pop up to my door and won't tell a thing." When Ianto looked down to his mug and didn't say a word she continued: "It's your job, isn't it?" Now she caught his attention. "That friend of yours, Gwen Cooper, told me about Torchwood. Not everything but I'm smart enough to connect the dots. Did you fake your own death? I mean you were involved to the government somehow."

Ianto resisted the urge to laugh. Rhiannon sure had watched too much TV but it did give him a way out of the uncomfortable situation. "Yes, I had to fake my own death but Gwen and Jack has no idea." The lie came from his mouth so smoothly that it surprised even himself. The skill hadn't gone rusty over the years of no major lies.

"I knew it! How did you do that?" Rhiannon was stunned. She had always thought that even Ianto's funeral had been suspicious: it had taken over a week before Ianto's body was handed over from London and she never got to see it before he was buried.

"Umm… it's a long story. I'll tell you someday later but right now I need to find Jack." Ianto hoped that Rhiannon would somehow know where he was.

"Your boyfriend?"

"…yes, if that's what you want to call him." Ianto felt his face getting hotter.

"He came by. Was a proper wreck, poor man."

Ianto's face lit up. "When?"

"About six months after your death." Rhiannon saw disappointment in Ianto's eyes. "Don't look so sad. I'm sure we'll find him somewhere. So he's not in his old flat then?"

"No… he wasn't. Nor was Gwen." Ianto felt tired. He realized he still hadn't eaten anything since his… resurrection and his stomach growled in response.

"Oh but Gwen came by only few weeks ago. She's been looking after us ever since you… were gone. She showed us pictures of her little baby. Anwen, she was named if I remember right." Rhiannon went to the bookshelf to find the picture she had left behind.

Ianto had almost forgotten that Gwen had been pregnant. So many things had happened in a short few days. "Do you know where they live?"

"Yeah, she gave me the address." Rhiannon took a photo from the shelf and gave it to Ianto. "Isn't she a beauty?"

Ianto examined the baby in the photo: she had her mother's eyes and father's nose, a very beautiful baby indeed.

"Turn it around." Rhiannon waved to the photo and as Ianto obeyed he saw an address written in Gwen's handwriting. "She said I should never tell it to anyone but it's you so I thought it would be fine. She said I could come by anytime I wanted. Haven't got the time to visit though."

Ianto quickly pinpointed the location of the house in his mind. It was at the far end of Cardiff and would take over an hour to drive there by car. "Can I borrow your car?" Ianto regretted asking it immediately when he saw Rhiannon's expression.

"Remember the last time I let you borrow our car, huh? I didn't hear from you in days and then you went and died. No way!"

"Okay, sorry that I asked. Can you drive me there then?"

"That might be acceptable." Rhiannon smiled at him.


	7. Reason

Gwen's and Rhys's house was a two-storied white and old house, nothing like Ianto would've imagined Gwen to live in. It was in a middle of nowhere, the closest house Ianto had seen during their drive here had been miles away and it had looked deserted. He smiled when he imagined Owen complaining about countryside and how unnatural it would be to live in there. Ianto would've agreed with him, not just because he was raised to never speak ill of the dead but also because he still had nightmares about the harvest.

"This should be it. At least the car is outside so they should be home." Rhiannon examined the yard from her side of the window. "I still don't understand why she couldn't just give her phone number. Imagine if we came all this way and found out they weren't home."

Ianto had had time to think during the drive there, and he had a bad feeling about why Gwen had moved here and kept secret her phone number as well. He took a deep breath. Facing Gwen would be one of the hardest things after Rhiannon. He was certain she would really blow up his head. Ianto was sure he saw a curtain move in one of the upstairs windows when they parked the car.

"Okay, let's get this over with." Ianto got off the car and walked after Rhiannon to the door. She pressed the doorbell and they waited anxiously for someone to open. Ianto moved a couple steps further from the door so he wouldn't be the first thing Gwen saw. "Don't frighten if she pulls a gun at me."

"What?" Rhiannon didn't get the answer when the door was pulled open and Gwen stared at her with wide smile. "Oh… hello!"

"Hello, Rhiannon! It's so nice to see you." Gwen beamed at Rhiannon and gave her a hug. "I saw someone else in the car with…" Gwen's eyes spotted Ianto and her smile faded to a terrified expression.

"Hello." Ianto said care freely and waved his hand at her.

"Rhys!" Gwen yelled without taking her eyes off of him. Slowly she moved her hand behind her back.

"What is it?"

Ianto saw Rhys standing in the end of the hallway with Anwen in his arms.

"Take Anwen safe!" Rhys didn't ask any questions before disappearing out of their sight.

"Gwen, it's okay. I…" Ianto took a step forward but was faced by a gun. Rhiannon screamed next to him.

"Stay right where you are!" Gwen shouted at him. "Now tell me who you are."

"Gwen, for god's sake, stop it!"

"I'm sorry, Rhiannon, but this thing can't be your brother even though he looks like him." Gwen knew that it would be tough to get Rhiannon inside. She had taken this alien, wearing Ianto's skin, to her doorstep so she must believe that it's really him. "Just please come inside and we can talk there, okay?" Gwen tried to guide her inside with her free hand but Rhiannon wouldn't budge.

"Okay! This has gone far enough." Ianto looked Gwen straight in the eye. "Gwen, ask me anything. Absolutely anything, something only we know. You can also check if I'm armed, because I am not." He held his hands up so Gwen could body check him.

"Okay, but no sudden moves or I will shoot." Gwen stepped carefully forward and started to pat Ianto's pockets and waist all the while pointing the gun at his face. When she couldn't find anything she quickly backed away again. "What _you_ and Jack could've used me for?"

It took a moment for Ianto to realize what she was talking about. But when he did he glanced at Rhiannon, hoping she wouldn't understand. "Naked hide and seek." He then answered, annoyed at Gwen for asking about that and made a note to himself for getting back at her.

"Okay, from whom did Tosh save us after her death?"

"Dalek."

"The last place we had ice-cream together?"

"Nowhere, I don't eat ice-cream."

Gwen sobbed loudly and covered her mouth with her hand. "Is it really you?"

"You don't get rid of me so easily." Ianto had barely time to steady himself when Gwen threw herself into his arms and hugged him tight.

"How is this possible? You were dead. I saw your body! Did Jack bring you back?" Gwen pulled away from the hug just to kiss both Ianto's cheeks. "I can't believe this."

"No, I haven't seen him since… you know." Ianto saw Rhiannon look at them with a frown on her face. His cover had been blown. She wouldn't believe his theory of faking his own death anymore.

…

Ianto told them everything: from the day he had died to the day he had returned back on Earth. Of course he left some bits away such as his little trip to young Jack's apartment.

"No way!" Rhiannon had exhaled at least five times during Ianto's story. Gwen had asked specified questions but Rhys had just listened and looked like nothing could impress him anymore.

"I've just come to terms with aliens after Gwen's stories. But time traveling? No way!"

Sixth time, Ianto counted in his mind. "I know it can be… very confusing." Ianto wasn't sure even he knew all the rules of time traveling… or the Doctor ether in that matter.

"So you met teenage Jack?" Gwen sat in front of Ianto in the kitchen table. She leaned forward in her chair, overly excited.

"He was 26, so not really teenager anymore, Gwen." Ianto smiled to her.

"No but… blimey! So tell me! What was he like?" Gwen hadn't even realized how much she had missed Ianto. They had used to talk about Jack and Rhys after long day at work at the hub's couch. They had grown so much closer after Tosh and Owen's deaths.

"It was weird. He didn't wear his greatcoat but a leatherjacket. Otherwise he was pretty much the same."

Gwen burst out on laughing. "A leather jacket? You're kidding me!"

Rhys and Rhiannon shared a look with each other. They felt like outsiders and had no idea why the pair was having so much fun.

"Nope, a leatherjacket and guess what else?" Ianto waited for Gwen to stop laughing. "He had short, spiky hair."

"No!" Gwen couldn't even imagine what Jack had looked like. The thought itself was so absurd.

"It was like running your hand through a comb." Ianto continued before he realized his error.

"You didn't!" Gwen gasped.

"Just once." He quickly defended himself. "And technically it wasn't cheating…"

"Okay, too much information." Rhiannon quickly interrupted him. Ianto had almost forgotten that she was sitting right next to him. It wasn't like her to be so quiet for so long.

"Right, you finished catching up yet?" Rhys stood up and brought more coffee to all of them. Gwen grinned at Ianto who smiled back. It was good to be home… almost home.

"So… do you know where he is?" Ianto had wanted to ask that from the moment they arrived at Gwen's house but he feared the answer aswell. Gwen's good mood seemed to drop in a second. She glanced uncomfortably to Rhys who gave her a tiny nod of encouragement.

"He ran away." The sadness poured out of her voice and Ianto felt a stab of pain in his chest. "Six months after you were gone, he just got up and left us. To find a new life, that's what he said."

Rhiannon glanced at her brother. He looked like the world had just ended.

"He came back though, when the miracle happened." Gwen realized Ianto had no idea what she was talking about. "I'll explain it all to you later but he didn't stay long after it. I saw him last time a month ago and he told me he was leaving again. Haven't heard of him ever since."

Ianto tried not to let his emotions show from his face. He felt sad and angry that Jack had left him behind but of course he hadn't known that he was alive. "So you don't have any idea where he might be or any way to contact him?"

"No, I'm sorry." Gwen felt really awful. If she had known that Ianto would be back, she would've forced Jack to stay but then again he would've staid even without forcing. There was a heavy silence after the revelation. No one really knew what to do or say next, a dead-end.

Rhys cleared his throat before speaking: "Gwen? Didn't you tell me once that this girl, Martha was she? That she had a way to contact the Doctor?"

"Yeah, I did." Gwen thought for a moment. "Oh, Rhys, you're brilliant man!" She kissed her husband's cheek fondly. "That's it, Ianto! If I can get in contact with Martha and she to the Doctor…"

"…he can find Jack, yes." Ianto finished her sentence. Letting only a bit of hope rise in his guts, maybe it could really work. The other options was that he would have to wait for years or even longer just to see Jack again.

…

Gwen put the phone down and smiled nervously to the others. She hadn't told Martha why they needed the Doctor to find Jack but she hadn't asked questions either. She had sounded so happy to finally hear about Gwen and Rhys. They hadn't been in contact with her since Ianto's funeral where they had told her that they would go underground for a while.

"She promised to call him. The only thing we can do now is wait." Gwen sighed and sat down by the table again. Anwen's cry reached her ears and she was just getting up when Rhys gently pushed her back down.

"I go." He smiled at her and walked towards their princess's room.

"I'll come with you! Can't stay away from babies, they are so adorable." Rhiannon quickly followed Rhys and they disappeared to the second floor.

Ianto stared outside the window as if the Tardis could appear behind it at any minute. He hadn't even realized that Rhys and Rhiannon had left until Gwen took hold of his hands. "He'll find him. I'm sure of it."

Ianto attempted a smile. "Yep, well he has all the time in the world to hunt Jack down."

Gwen laughed. "That's the spirit!" She squeezed his hands before letting go. For a moment they sat in silence and Ianto continued to stare out of the window. Gwen eyed Ianto carefully before asking the question she had been thinking ever since his death: "Why did you lie to us?"

"What?" Ianto looked at her with surprise. He had no idea what she was talking about.

"About your father? Being a master tailor?"

Ianto saw the hurt in Gwen's eyes even though she tried to hide it. "But... he was a master tailor."

"I talked with Rhiannon. She said he worked in Debenhams." Gwen was disappointed that he still tried to tell her otherwise.

Ianto ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes for a minute. He had never thought she would ever confront him about the subject. "Look, Gwen, me and Rhiannon… we have different kind of notion of our father. She… has always seen him as a good father who worked hard to support our family. I knew only the one who had to give up his dreams and hopes for us and grabbed the bottle at nights. And that's not the father I wanted to remember."

Gwen frowned at him but didn't say a word.

"Our dad did work as a master tailor, for a while at least. It had always been his dream; his granddad had been a tailor too. But when Rhi was eleven years old and I seven, our mother died and dad… he took it hard. He got depressed and started to drink, eventually unable to keep his shop up and ended up in Debenhams."

"Oh, Ianto, I didn't know. What happened to her?" Gwen felt awful for bringing the subject up. She felt the pain that Ianto and Rhiannon must've felt very vividly. It was only few weeks ago that her father had passed away and she still cried at nights, wishing she could just call him.

"She had a brain tumor. She died three months after the diagnosis." He didn't tell her that their mother had taken her own life, not been able to cope with the doctor's diagnosis: six months to live. Ianto hadn't known it until he was much older. He had argued with his dad one night and it had just slipped out of his father's mouth. "As you can see Rhiannon has much realistic visualization of our family than I, but I never thought that I was lying to you… any of you."

"Ianto, I'm so sorry for bringing that up. I should've thought before…" Gwen wiped her eyes and quickly hugged Ianto across the table. "Did you tell even Jack?"

"Yeah, he knows the whole story." Ianto smiled weakly at her when she pulled away.

"What's wrong? Did Martha call?"

They turned to see Rhys standing at the kitchen doorway looking alarmed when he saw his wife crying.

"No, no, haven't heard from her. We just… had a little talk, that's all." Gwen patted the seat next to her and Rhys sat down. Then, as on cue, the phone rang. They all just looked at the ringing phone on the table before Gwen hurriedly answered it. Rhiannon joined them in the kitchen with Anwen on her arms, smiling like she had never seen a baby before, but her face turned to excitement when she saw that Gwen was on a phone.

"Who is it? Did they find Jack?" Rhiannon whispered to Ianto who just shook his head at her.

They all just stared at Gwen who seemed to listen intensively to whoever was on the other side. Then her eyes widened and she put her hand against the phone and whispered: "It's the Doctor."

"What does he want?" Rhys quickly asked and waved his hand for Gwen to continue.

"He wants to know why we want to get in touch with Jack. What do I tell him?" Gwen still heard the Doctor talking away in the phone but she didn't listen to him anymore.

"Ask him why he wants to know." Ianto cut in; sure that Doctor had failed to find Jack and was now curious of what was going on. "Put it into a speaker."

Gwen did as she was told and put the phone down to the table. "Umm… why do you need to know?"

_"__Well, no reason really, just curious." _

Ianto rolled his eyes.

_"__But I found Jack and he refuses to come with me unless I tell him what's going on."_

This time Ianto's heart jumped and his throat felt suddenly really dry.

"Great! I mean… I can talk to him if you want?" Gwen smiled widely to the good news.

_"__Alright! I should warn you: he's in a bad mood today." _The Doctor's voice muffled down but they still heard him calling out to Jack: _"Jack! Gwen wants to talk to you. Oh come on, if you don't take it I'll put it into a speaker and you know I can do that!" _There were more muffled voices and this time they couldn't make out any words until Jack's voice came to the line: _"Gwen?"_

Gwen almost jumped in delight. "Hi, Jack! Listen, we really need your help back here."

There was a loud sight. _"Gwen I told you. I'm not going to come back. I'm sure you can handle it by yourselves."_

"Jack, please, I need to speak with you."

_"__Then speak now." _Came a stern reply. Jack sounded really pissed-off.

"Just come back on Earth."

_"__Why?"_

"Please just trust me on this. Just one little visit that's all I ask." Gwen was getting tired of the conversation.

_"__I'm sorry, Gwen. I… don't feel like coming back yet. Was that all you wanted?"_

"Jack, please…"

_"__No, Gwen!"_ Jack's sounded broken to Ianto's ear. _"I have nothing to come back for. I'm hanging up now."_

Gwen looked pleadingly at Ianto. She knew that they had agreed not to tell Jack why they wanted him back because it would've been better for him to see with his own eyes but if they didn't tell him now they were going to lose their contact on him.

"Come back for me." Ianto then said, his throat even drier than before.

There was a heavy silence at the other end of the line.

_"__Ianto?" _Jack's voice was silent and trembling.

"It's me, Jack. Please come back."

_"__But it can't be…"_

"I'll explain everything to you later, okay?" For a moment Ianto feared Jack wouldn't believe that it was really him but then there was a barely audible 'okay' and the line went down.

Before any of them had a change to say anything a huge crashing sound came from the living room, like a glass had been chattered. A cloud of smoke filled the house in seconds.

"Out!" Gwen managed to shout and they all started to back away to the door. Ianto was first one to reach it but before he could even touch the handle the door was kicked in and armed soldiers stormed in. The front door was forced open as well and soon they were surrounded by them. First soldier took hold of Ianto and placed linen to his face. He tried to fight back but the smoke and smell of chloroform made his efforts fruitless. He still heard Gwen's shouting and Anwen's cries when he slowly passed out. Rhiannon yelled his name from somewhere but he couldn't react to it. Rhys had been able to hit some soldiers as he tried to protect Rhiannon as she had his baby but he was soon outnumbered and knocked out as well.

"No don't take her she's just a baby!" Rhiannon tried to keep Anwen to herself but two men yanked her away from her arms.

"If you touch her I'm going to kill all of you! Let go of me!" Gwen kicked and screamed as one soldier tried to keep her in place. She kept on screaming as they all were dragged outside.


	8. Late

**Sorry for the delay! I've been busy and then my internet connection started to break down. I know: excuses! But I want to thank for everyone who's following. This story keeps on expanding but I got the main story written down already. Hope you like it!**

The Tardis appeared to Gwen and Rhys's garden. The door opened immediately and Jack almost ran outside. He hastily looked around to see where they had landed. His heart was pumping fast in his chest. Jack needed to see the situation with his own eyes. He was sure it was some kind of trick. Ianto couldn't be alive. Jack walked swiftly towards the house. He didn't notice large tire tracks and many footstep marks on the muddy ground.

"Jack! Wait a minute!" The Doctor ran after the immortal. It was usually him who ran ahead.

Jack stopped by the front door but not because of the Doctor's whish but because the door was ajar. He felt a bad feeling in his guts. Quickly Jack took his gun in his hand and carefully pushed the door completely open. The first thing he saw was a broken vase in the middle of the hallway. Slowly he walked inside checking empty rooms by the corridor as he made his way to the living room. There he saw overturn chairs and something out of place on the middle of the floor. He quickly checked his surroundings before crouching down. Closer look relieved that the object was smoke bomb. He reached his hand towards it but instead of picking it up he grabbed the pink item next to it: Anwen's stuffed toy.

"Uuuuh, what a mess." Doctor casually walked inside the room and spin around. "Jack, I noticed footsteps and tracks like something had been dragged along the ground."

"Yeah…" Jack muttered and dropped the pink pterodactyl to the floor. He straightened himself and turned to look at the Doctor. "Someone or some_thing_ has taken them. I'm sure they tried to lure me in here by mimicking Ianto's voice."

The Doctor didn't say anything. He buzzed his sonic screwdriver around the room before running to the kitchen. Jack followed him and found him standing in the kitchen table. Doctor pointed the screwdriver towards the ceiling and stretched his hand behind the window's curtains.

"I… think…" The Doctor frowned and pressed his lips together. Then a loud crack was heard and he pulled a tiny box out. "…found something." He jumped down and held the box for Jack to see. "It's a listening devise."

Jack took the box and examined it more closely. "You're right. So they are hearing everything we're saying." Jack felt a wave of rage wash over him and he threw the device to the nearest wall with an angry roar as hard as he could. Why hadn't he just come right away when Gwen had asked him to? It was his fault they had been taken, he was sure of it. But the one thing that enraged him most was that whoever had taken them had the nerve to use Ianto's voice and raise his hopes up. He hadn't believed Ianto was alive, not really, but for a second he had thought about it.

"I actually disbanded it already…" Doctor scratched the back of his head and watched Jack as he paced around. "Do you have any idea who could've taken them?"

"Yeah… millions!" Jack screamed at him before stopping abruptly. "But there is someone who had chased after us for a year now: UNIT."

"No time to waste! Let's go then!" Doctor grinned widely before running outside, Jack right after him.

…

"Mickey, please! I'm going to be late!" Martha slapped the hand of her boyfriend when he tried to pull her back to bed.

"They won't kill you if you're late once in five years." Mickey didn't see the shirt coming and it covered his face, muffling his last words.

Martha laughed and walked out the room. She went to the kitchen and started to make coffee. She was just going to put the coffee machine on when she heard all too familiar voice of Tardis. Quickly she pulled the dressing gown on and ran outside, calling Mickey to hurry up. As she opened the door a big smile appeared on her face. The Tardis stood in the middle of the pavement and in front of it were Doctor and Jack.

"Oh, you two!" She screamed in delight and ran to hug them both. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, we wanted to say hello to our favorite doctor…" Doctor beamed. "…aaaand we kind of need your help a little."

"I knew it!" Martha playfully hit Doctor's arm. The time lord frowned at her and rubbed the spot she had hit.

"Captain cheesecake!" They all turned to look at Mickey who ran down to stairs to greed them. "What's the occasion?"

"Mickey Mouse? What are you doing here?" The Doctor looked between Mickey and Martha but then his eyes widened in shock. "NO!" Martha nodded at him. "No way! You two? Really? Oh, Martha, what happened to Tom? I'm sure Mickey isn't… you know…"

"We had a divorce." Martha answered him but she still smiled to Doctor's reaction.

"What's wrong with me?" Mickey huffed to him. "In fact we are engaged now."

"Oh! Well, congratulations… I think."

"That was the most rubbish congratulations I have ever heard." Mickey laughed and he patted Doctor's arm playfully.

"Stop hitting me!"

"Congratulations you two!" Jack grinned widely and pulled the couple into a big hug. "But Doctor, we came here for a reason." The mood immediately changed to serious.

Martha only now realized how sad Jack looked like. There was a playful smile on his lips but it didn't quite reach his eyes. She then remembered that the last time they had seen each other had been over six months ago. Jack had told her then that he would never again return to Earth, but here he was and she was sure there was a good reason for it. He hadn't seemed like he would change his mind about it.

"Oh yes!" Doctor pointed his finger at Martha. "We need you to get us inside the UNIT's penitentiary."

Martha's eyes widened. "Why an earth would you want to go there?"

"We think that's where Gwen and Rhys have been taken." Jack was the one to answer her question. "We went by their house but it was empty and there was a sing of struggle."

"Oh god!" Martha gasped. "Did they find out their house because she made a call to me?"

"No there was a listening devise." Jack stopped to think. "But it doesn't make any sense. Torchwood's staff is wanted across the world. If they had known Gwen's location they certainly wouldn't place an listening devise to their house instead of arresting them."

"Maybe they've been waiting for your arrival." Doctor suggested but for Jack it didn't make any sense, but he still nodded to the time lord.

It was more likely that UNIT had been listening Martha's phone calls for a while now in case she got in touch with Torchwood. Jack didn't want Martha to blame herself so he decided to stay silent. "Will you help us?"

"Yeah, of course, anything for you." Martha's voice was stern but inside she felt conflicted. She had worked for UNIT for years now and she felt the sense of loyalty towards them. But in the end she was more loyal to Doctor and to Torchwood. "But why didn't you come any sooner. It's been five days since I called you."

Jack looked murderously at the Doctor who opened his mouth to explain but he couldn't come up with any excuse.

"Sorry?"


	9. Fleeing

**The next part! I'll try to write as much as I can in the next couple of weeks because after that my schoolworks will consume me entirely. So there might be some delay with the future chapters. Please, enjoy!**

UNIT's prison guard, Sam Hill, had a boring three hours ahead of him. It was the time of guards shift so he had to be in watch alone. The task was simple: sit, watch from monitors that no one in the cells tried to escape or kill themselves and wait for the coworkers to accompany him. So Sam sat down behind his desk, lifted his feet up to it and opened his magazine. Usually he would be in the same position for the next hour but this time he was rudely interrupted:

"Doctor Martha Jones. I'm here to check the prisoners in case of diseases."

Sam looked up with a stunned expression to the dark skinned, beautiful woman.

"Diseases? I'm sorry, ma'am, but I believe our prisoners are normally checked every Friday." Sam quickly glanced at the calendar on the table to make sure he wasn't living in a wrong day.

"Yes, I'm aware of that, but there's been… a little problem among the guards and we have been ordered to check all the prisoners in case they are carrying any external diseases."

The guards face went pale as a sheet. "What kind of diseases?"

"Oh, nothing deadly… yet… but we need to pin point the exact source of the illness. If you want to be checked I'm sure my apprentice, John Smith, here can check you out while we take a look of the cells." Martha smiled sweetly towards the Doctor.

"What? Me?" Doctor turned to look at the guard who seemed like he was ready to plead for his life. "Right… okay then. This way."

Both Martha and Mickey suppressed a laugh when Doctor walked away with the guard. Jack was still uncomfortable in his cover up clothes: soldier's uniform. Mickey was wearing one too but with more pride than him. Jack wished he could've seen Ianto wearing one. It would've suited him, especially the red Unit cap.

"Jack!"

Jack had barely time to catch the item that the Doctor threw at him. He opened his palms to see the sonic screwdriver. He looked up and saw Doctor wink at him.

"Okay, let's hurry up." Jack waved the screwdriver in front of Martha and Mickey.

They all ran to the opposite directions but soon Mickey called after Martha and Jack: "It would probably help to know what they look like!"

Jack just laughed and kept on going, leaving the explanations to Martha. His laugh soon faded when he observed the dark prison. Jack still remembered the last time he had visited UNIT's holding cells. He had come to release Toshiko Sato, the amazing and one of the smartest girls he had ever known. He still missed her almost every day. She had been like a little sister to him. Jack had tried to use his influence as a Torchwood leader to make things better for the prisoners in UNIT. Now he saw that not many things had actually changed. The cells were warm and there were beds for every human and alien kept there but they still had no permission to get in contact with anybody. It was a hard life living years without even a proper talk with another human being.

Jack soon reached the end of the corridor and opened the first hatch. The cell was empty and so was the next one. He looked to the way he had come and sighed deeply. It was going to take a long time.

…..

Mickey was happy to get some action, although he would've preferred to be in bed with Martha but since she hadn't been willing to do the same, this was his second best option. He remembered the time when he had hated the danger. Back when he still loved Rose, and he still did, just not in the same way. Mickey opened the first hatch to look inside and the first thing he saw was a woman jumping against the door with all her weight and screamed. Mickey screamed as well, a manly scream, in his point of view.

"Please, let me out! I swear I won't do it again! I swear!" The woman kept on screaming as Mickey quickly closed the hatch. The banging continued as he quickly made his way to the next door. He hoped the rest of the prisoners wouldn't be jumping on him.

….

Martha got to the task with a fierce determination. She almost ran between the doors and the sound of hatches closing echoed around the hall. She knew they didn't have much time before the guards came back.

As she proceeded down the corridor, her mind began to wonder. She thought about Jack and something about his behavior made her uncomfortable. It wasn't only the lack of flirting or the way he faked his smiles but whenever she looked at him, she was sure that he wasn't telling something he should. Martha had thought about pressing Jack but she trusted him and was sure he would tell if it was something important. Still the distressing feeling wouldn't leave her.

Jack was getting frustrated. He had gone through, at least, twenty cells and there were no sign of Gwen or Rhys. The next cell he checked seemed to be empty at first but then he saw a glimpse of someone's leg on the floor. The prisoner was probably sitting by the door.

"Gwen?" Jack called inside. There was a silent gasp and then Jack saw a young woman slowly walk away from the door in crouched position. Jack immediately saw that she wasn't the one he was looking for and was just about to close the hatch when the woman turned around to look at him. "Lois? Lois Habiba?"

It was hard to recognize her: her hair was longer and the dreadlocks were gone. Her eyes were wide open and a little scared at first but when she recognized Jack, her expression changed to overwhelmed joy.

"Oh my god! Captain Jack Harkness! Is that really you?" Lois quickly crossed the floor to look properly through the hatch. Her voice was hoarse; she hadn't spoken in a long time.

"Yeah, how come you're still here?" Jack waved the screwdriver in front of the lock and let Lois out.

She laughed heartedly and for a moment Jack thought she might've lost her mind in there. "I can't believe it's really you! I hoped you would come." When Jack didn't answer she continued: "You though that they would just release me after I 'betrayed' my country or that's how they put it."

"You've been here… over a year?" Jack looked inside the tiny cell, trying to picture how anyone could've stayed sane inside. But then he thought it probably wasn't any different than what he had gone through: a year in the Valiant and centuries buried underground.

"Like I said: I hoped you would come…" Lois walked around as if just walking freely around the corridor brought her enormous joy. Then she suddenly gasped and turned to look at Jack again. "And then I saw Gwen Cooper and her husband! They were really here, weren't they? I thought I had finally lost my mind."

"Yeah, they're here… somewhere. We just need to find the cells they're kept in. Come." Jack was about to pat her shoulder but quickly withdrew his hand when she flinched away. "Sorry." He tried to give her an encouraging smile before going back to his duties. He felt so tired, another life Torchwood had ruined… he had ruined. Jack was just about to open the next cell's hatch when Lois gently took hold of his hand. He looked at her with puzzled expression.

"Couple days ago… Something happened and I think Gwen and Rhys were taken." She said and squeezed Jack's hand as if she tried to make sure he was really there.

"Taken? Why do you think so?"

"I…"

"Jack, you found anything?" Mickey rounded the corner but stopped to his tracks when he saw Lois. "Oh, you did! So you're Gwen? You're not quite what Martha told me."

"Mickey, meet Lois Habiba, she helped Torchwood once." Jack waved his, now free, hand between the two. Mickey offered his hand to her and Lois carefully shook it.

Martha soon joined them and she was introduced to Lois as well. They quickly checked the rest of the cells but with no luck.

"We should get out of here before anyone notices us." Mickey suggested and they all agreed.

They had just passed the guard's desk when Doctor return with Mister Hill. "So don't worry, it's just a bad looking mole it's not necessarily a melanoma." The guard nodded eagerly at him before returning to his post, looking like the world had just ended.

"What did you say to him?" Martha whispered to the Doctor as they made their way outside.

"Nothing much." Doctor grinned at her.

"We didn't…" Mickey started but Doctor interrupted him:

"I know, Mickey! They aren't here because according to our friend Sam, our Torchwood prisoners have escaped couple days ago."

"That's wonderful news! But where could they be?" Martha tried to think a place where her friend could've gone.

"I don't think they managed to escape." Lois spoke up with a shaken voice. She wasn't used to talking with people and with so many at once. "I saw Gwen and we managed to exchange a few words. She… she said she would take me with her when you would come to rescue them."

"Then what are you suggesting?" Mickey asked. They were now at the exit and he quickly checked that no one was around to see them.

"I think someone took them. There was something weird going on couple days ago. None of the prisoners got out of their cells and food, if you can call it that, was late for many hours. It's never late."

"Yes, I was just getting to that. While you were taking your time checking the prison cells I took the liberty to take a look at the security tapes." Doctor sounded proud of himself, as always. "What I found was that three prisoners were forced outside of their cells by some soldiers. They were wearing dark gray uniforms and they seemed to know their way around but they weren't UNIT soldiers."

Jack tried to think of a department whose guards wore gray but couldn't come up with anything. Ianto would've known.

"How did you do that?" Martha questioned the time lord's doings.

"I told Sam that I was doing some x-rays so I got an excuse to leave the room."

"But there aren't any x-ray machines in the medical room." Martha would know; she had filled-in the prisoner's doctor for over a week once.

"Nope." Doctor agreed without even looking at her. Martha smiled widely after him, the man had some nerve.

They had barely taken two steps away from the exit when alarms went off and their friend Mister Hill ran after them with few other guards.

"Hey, you! Stop!"

"That took some time!" Doctor shouted and they all ran towards the parking lot where Tardis was neatly parked. It had scratched only three cars in landing.

Mickey stayed behind to shoot towards the soldiers that ran after them. Martha joined him even though she had no gun. Jack checked that they were doing fine before following Doctor and Lois. He almost ran into their backs when he turned around. The pair just stood couple meters away from Tardis. Jack followed their gaze and his eyes widened. There was Rhiannon, Ianto's sister, leaning to the Tardis's wooden door with a smug expression.

"You lot took your time! I've been waiting for almost an hour." Rhiannon patted the Tardis. "You're going to let me in?"


	10. Wine

**I'm so glad I managed to post this chapter already. It has caused me a lot of trouble but it turned out OK in the end.**

"And who are you?" Doctor asked from Rhiannon as he gently moved her away from the Tardis so he could get the door open.

"Rhiannon, Ianto's sister." She answered and followed Doctor inside.

"Get inside." Jack guided Lois to the Tardis and waited for Mickey and Martha. The man was still busy keeping the soldiers at bay. "Oi! You two!" Jack yelled and pointed his gun towards them. "Get inside!"

Martha tugged Mickey from his arm and they quickly ran inside the Tardis while Jack fired towards the soldiers. When he heard that the Tardis was ready to leave he waved his hand at the armed men and quickly jumped inside when they opened fire towards him.

"So what is going on?" Jack closed the door behind him and heard bullets hit it. He avoided Doctor's stern gaze and lifted his hands up in defeat when he realized he wasn't going to get some answers very soon. Both Rhiannon and Lois were staring the inside of Tardis in wonder.

"It's bigger from the inside…" They said almost in unison.

"But how?" Lois looked towards the door, wanting to go outside and check that that the box didn't just go on in the other side but decided it wouldn't be safe.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Martha smiled at them but fearing for their friends' safety, she needed some answers: "Were Gwen and Rhys alright when you saw them for the last time?"

"Yes, they seemed to be in shock and very nervous but they assured me that rescue was on its way." Lois was delighted when she noticed that her voice was slowly getting back. Her throat was hurting and she felt thirsty but it was little things compared to the year's misery in prison. She hadn't even remembered how good the air smelled outside.

"Good, good, but what I want to know is who are you?" Doctor turned their attention towards Rhiannon.

"I already told you: I'm Rhiannon Davies, Ianto's sister." She answered without taking her eyes away from the time lord's.

"Ianto's?" Doctor scratched the back of his head with a frown on his face.

Jack hadn't told the Doctor that he had heard Ianto's voice in the phone. He didn't think it was relevant when he was sure that it had just been some kind of recording or a trick of his mind. But his anger started to boil when Doctor didn't seem to remember the Welshman.

"You know: Ianto Jones, Torchwood. Saved the Earth couple of times and even helped you once." Jack didn't mean it to come out so cold but he couldn't help himself.

"Oh yes! Of course I know him! Good man." Doctor grinned widely and patted Rhiannon's shoulder. "How is he?" His smile quickly faded when he saw Jack's expression: full of sadness and regret.

"That's what I want to find out." Rhiannon glanced at Jack and frowned when the man stared at her with unreadable expression.

"So…" Jack started to speak but he had to swallow to get his voice audible. "…you saw him?"

Rhiannon didn't understand why Jack was asking just a question. "Yes, I did. We went to see Gwen and Rhys together."

Martha walked to Jack and nudged his arm. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" She nodded her head towards the Tardis's entrance. Jack followed her to the doors. "It seems you knew about… him and I don't understand why you didn't tell us but I just wanted you to remember that most likely it's not Ianto." Martha spoke softly so no one else could hear them.

"I know." Jack tried to smile confidently at her but apparently failed because Martha continued:

"It could be someone using his body or who can change its appearance. I mean bringing people back from the death isn't possible." Martha didn't want Jack to get his hopes up and then find out that Ianto wasn't really himself. "And don't pull the Owen card on me." She pointed her finger at Jack when he was about to protest against her. "That didn't end up very well."

"Martha, I know it's not Ianto, so you don't have to worry." Jack didn't mean to sound harsh but for some reason he was irritated. Probably mostly to himself: he had let himself to believe, only for a second. Martha gave him a hug and whispered an apology to his ear.

"So the UNIT didn't arrest you?" Mickey asked from Rhiannon as they returned to the others.

"Yes, they did, but I was released the next day. They said something that they didn't have authorization to keep me under arrest. I wasn't directly related to Torchwood."

Rhiannon told them that UNIT had given her ticket back to Cardiff but she had decided to stay in London. She had managed to call her husband and he had called his friend living in London who had loaned her some money. With that she had bought a hotel room and rented a car. For days she had waited for Jack to appear and couple days earlier things had started to happen. At first she had thought that Jack had emerged with his rescue group when five soldiers, all dressed in gray uniforms, had stormed inside the UNIT's prison. She had been watching from afar and saw that they took her brother and friends in handcuffs to their cars and drove away. The UNIT's soldiers hadn't done anything to stop them and Rhiannon had no idea why they were taken. She had decided to follow them and so had found out where four of them were kept.

"It was a huge villa just by the border of England and Wales, in the middle of nowhere. I was lucky when they didn't notice me following them." Rhiannon ended her side of the story.

"We better hurry then!" Doctor ran to the console. "What are the coordinates then?" He looked up to Rhiannon who just shrug her shoulders.

"I just know how to drive there." She took a roadmap from her jeans back pocket and opened it to the floor. Jack and Martha quickly crouched next to her. "The map only has roads to this far." She pointed the location in the map. "The last roads they drove weren't even on the map but I took time and it took about 40 minutes to drive there."

"Oh, Rhiannon, you're brilliant." Jack smiled widely at her. She surely was her brother's sister. "I think we can calculate the distance with that information."

Ianto missed coffee. He _really_ missed coffee. They had been transported two days ago, to be exact 43 hours and 25 minutes ago. Or that's what he thought. He didn't have his stopwatch with him, the UNIT soldiers had taken it with all the other property they had. The days had gone by slowly. They were held captive in an underground cellar; one wall was covered with wine racks. At least they were together now and food was also better at their unknown location but coffee was still not served and Ianto felt like his head was going to explode. He didn't whine about it though, Gwen and Rhys had bigger problems than coffee: they hadn't seen their child in days and it really tore them apart. Gwen cried at nights on the mattress in the corner of the room. Rhys tried to comfort her with sweet words like they were going to get out of here soon and nobody could hurt a little child. Ianto didn't believe in his words and he was sure that Gwen believed them either. They had seen much worse in their line of duty. There had been no word about Jack or the Doctor. There was no guarantee that they even came back on Earth or if they had, then they probably didn't know where to look for them.

The cellar had no windows and even Ianto started to lose his sense of time in the dark and moist room. They were tied up all times expect when they were taken to the bathroom or given food. Escaping was impossible, they knew, they had planned it from the minute they could talk with each other. There were too many guards and they had no idea how far they were from civilization. It would be a serious journey through the countryside if they had no idea where they could seek shelter. That still didn't mean that they wouldn't try. If the rescue wasn't coming, they had to at least try.

As Ianto was thinking about a steaming cup of coffee and warm shower, he heard that the guard, who always stood behind the door, walking away from his post. It had never happened before and Ianto listened carefully for a while just to be sure that the footsteps faded away.

"Gwen…" He whispered to get her attention. "The guard… he left."

"What? You sure? I didn't hear a thing." Gwen had been lying on the floor, resting her head to Rhys's lap. She now sat up and listened herself. "I think you're right."

Ianto looked at the wine racks. "I could probably kick one bottle down."

"It will cause awful lot of noise." Rhys wasn't sure about the idea.

"Yes, but what other choice do we have?" Gwen asked and crouched to the door. Their hands were tied to their backs and legs were wrapped from ankles and thighs so it was impossible to stand up. She pressed her ear against the door and nodded to Ianto when she didn't hear the guard coming back.

Ianto crouched closer to the rack and started to kick its wooden leg. Dust flew around and the bottles clattered. They were sure that the banging echoed through the whole building but Ianto kept on going. It didn't take long when one bottle crashed to the floor. Gwen mouthed a silent yes. Ianto quickly positioned himself so he could get one of the biggest shards to his hands and cut the rope. He felt the wine soak his prison clothes and for once he was happy for not wearing a suit.

Gwen still didn't hear anyone coming to the door. She glanced at Ianto to see how he was doing and saw blood flowing from his hands and blend to the puddle of red wine. "Ianto, you're bleeding." She whispered, concerned that he might've cut himself deeply.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Ianto said sarcastically and caused Gwen to scowl at him. "Just a little scratch… I should get the rope cut…" He bit his lower lip. "…about now." Ianto sighed as he managed to get his aching hands free. He quickly unfastened Gwen and Rhys's bondages.

"Do you think the door is open?" Rhys asked as they gathered to the door. It opened easily.

They saw an empty basement; with bar in one wall and a huge couch facing a silver screen on the other. At the opposite wall from them there was stairs leading up.

"Okay, this is too easy." Rhys announced their thoughts.

"Come on." Gwen whispered. They all armed themselves with bottles of wine before continuing.

Their footsteps echoed in the staircase as they slowly approached the closed door overhead, fearing that it might be locked. For their surprise it was also open but Gwen quickly shut it when she saw a guard heading down the corridor. They all held their breaths when they heard the man coming closer but he walked pass the door. When they were sure that he was far enough Gwen cracked the door open again.

"Cost's clear." She whispered and they made their way to the corridor. They slowly approached the other end but their way came to a sudden stop when a door was opened just a few feet from them. A guard walked out; fortunately her back was towards them so she didn't notice the three runaways. Gwen motioned for the boys to stay put as she slowly approached the guard. The woman wasn't wearing her helmet or cover glasses as the guards usually wore which made it impossible to recognize them. The strike was fast and precise, causing the bottle to break down. Gwen hoped that no one heard the noise. Quickly she snatched the guard's gun and they moved on.

They soon came to a huge living room: the ceiling was at least four meters high and the opposite wall was made only from glass which lighted the room with dim sunlight. On the right side was also a door leading to the terrace, calling for a change to escape but they could never leave without Anwen. She was kept in the same building. They had seen her taken by the same people as them and sometimes they even heard her cries echoing in the house.

"We should check upstairs." Rhys murmured and pointed to the stairs on their right side, which rose to the next floor's balcony.

"I think one of us should try and escape outside. That way we won't all be caught at the same time." Ianto suggested to the married couple.

"You should go. We need to check on Anwen." Gwen rubbed Ianto's arm fondly. "Just be safe, okay?"

Ianto smiled and nodded at her. He was just about to turn around towards the door when a woman's voice stopped him:

"I wouldn't move one more step if I were you."

They all looked up to see a dark haired woman standing at the second floor with Anwen in her arms. She was hovering over the railing, looking like she could drop Anwen at any moment.

"Oh, Anwen, my baby!" Gwen gasped as she saw her daughter. "Give her to me. Now!" Her voice changed surprisingly fast from shuttered breath to a stern cold. Ianto still never wanted to get on her bad side. Gwen lifted the gun and pointed it towards the unknown woman.

"I don't think you're in a position to give orders." The woman said with a stoned look. She was middle aged and very beautiful. She reminded Ianto of someone but he couldn't figure out whom.

Suddenly they heard footsteps approaching them. Three guards appeared from outside, guns pointed towards them. Two more guards emerged from the second floor hallways and left guarding the top of the stairs.

The woman seemed to be satisfied and started to walk away.

"Hey! Don't you walk away with my baby! Come back here you bitch!" Rhys yelled at her but in vain. She disappeared from their sight. "Fuck!" Gwen tried to hold the tears back as she realized she still couldn't hold her child and they were going to be taken back to the cellar with tighter securities for sure. Despite her feelings she tried to calm Rhys down by taking his hand on hers.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here: wondering around my house like you owned the place."

The three of them turned around to see a very familiar looking man approaching them from behind the three guards. They all glared at the man when they recognized him: Brian Green, former prime minister. He had been the mastermind behind the 456 incident and ordered Britain to give away ten percent of the children to the aliens.

"You! What's going on?" Gwen was ready to lash out to the man but Rhys kept her in place.

"I thought you were supposed to be a clever group. Perhaps the most intelligent part of it has already died or… simply ran away." Mister Green smiled smugly at them as he stopped to stand next to his guards.

"Why haven't you showed you face earlier?" Ianto was the one to ask.

"That's not important. I've only followed instructions but I'm getting a bit annoyed by this charade." Green waved his hand around the air. He glanced to upstairs before continuing. "Who knows how long this is going to last if we just take you down to the basement again. And you've already broken one of my highly expensive wines. I don't like that, so I'd recommend you to put the bottles… and the gun down."

A loud smash echoed in the hall when Ianto dropped the bottle to the hardwood floor. "Ups." He said with solemn face. One more bottle crashed as Rhys did the same. They sure wouldn't follow that disgusting man's orders, not when they had seen what he had been willing to do to the children.

"Actually there's one more down the in the basement." Gwen said, enjoying seeing how irritated it made him. She slowly lowered the gun to the floor and kicked it over to the guards.

Anger flashed at Brian Green's face when he looked at the broken bottles. Then he smiled dryly at them. "You will pay for those. I won't let Torchwood ruin any more of my life. Tie their hands!"

One of the guards descended the stairs and they all tried not to let the pain show from their faces as their still aching hands were forcefully tied up again.

"You've taken everything from me: my job, my family and my reputation." Brian Green continued to speak. He had been given a change to discharge himself from his position as a prime minister but after the incident of 456, the rumors had spread fast and he hadn't been able to get a job quadrating with his education. So he hadn't been able to sustain his wife's expensive lifestyle and she had left him, taking all the money he had left with her. Only his family's manor had remained at his possession.

While Mister Green went on complaining about Torchwood's effect on his life, Ianto, Gwen and Rhys saw a figure appearing outside the window. He tried to stay out of sight but they recognized him immediately to Captain Jack Harkness. They managed to keep their faces blank, expect for Ianto who couldn't help a tiny smile appear to his lips as their eyes met. He quickly forced his gaze away from Jack's so he wouldn't be spotted.

The place had been bustling with guards as Jack had made his way through the mansion's grounds. It hadn't taken long for him to find who he was looking for.

When Jack had peaked through the windows he had immediately noticed the three figures standing in the middle of the room. Gwen and Rhys stood close together and they looked unharmed. Then he saw Ianto and all the doubts of him being an imposter disappeared from his mind. He couldn't even remember that he had once doubted it. Then Ianto noticed him and their eyes met. Jack felt his heart skip a beat as the familiar smile appeared on Ianto's lips. Too soon the man looked away. Only then Jack started to pay attention at the other people standing in the room. One he recognized immediately to Brian Green even though the man was facing the other way. His blood started to boil with hatred towards the man.

Jack couldn't hear what Green was saying so carefully he opened the glass door.

"It's been already a week and there has been no sign of your leader. Which doesn't surprise me..." Green's voice carried from the inside.

"So you're only trying to get in touch with Jack?" Gwen asked, tempted to look at Jack's direction but kept her gaze sternly at Mister Green.

"You could say that. We thought that by taking you we could lure Captain Harkness here. It seems our plan has failed but I'm quite content of having at least three members of the little gang of yours. Although…" Green turned to look at Ianto. "…one of you was supposed to be dead already. I have no idea how you managed to survive from the Thames House and fake your own death but know this: you'll never get out of this house alive."

"Stop right there!" A shout came from upstairs as one of the guards had spotted Jack lurking by the entrance. "Drop the gun!"

Jack sighed in annoyance. The man shouldn't have been able to spot him. He reluctantly stepped inside and put his revolver to the floor.

"Speak of the devil." Brian Green seemed extremely happy to see Jack. "Slide the gun over here and you may join your little friends." He gestured towards the others.

Jack did as he was told and walked to his friends. He quickly squeezed Gwen's shoulder as he passed her before walking to Ianto and pulling him to a tight hug. Ianto almost lost his balance as Jack lunged to him. Ianto felt a wave of relief wash over him and tears burn behind his eyes. He buried his nose to Jack's shoulder and inhaled the familiar scent deeply.

"Hi." He then whispered to Jack's ear.

"Hi." Jack answered with a shaking voice.

"I would hug you back…" Ianto moved his tied hands behind his back. He heard Jack sigh in agreement before the man pulled away from the hug and pressed their lips together. Jack held his hands on Ianto's cheeks gently. To Ianto the kiss felt like their first one: it was hesitant and slow but absolutely wonderful. But ended too soon as Jack departed his lips from Ianto's but instead placed their foreheads together.

"I can't believe it's really you." Jack said, still eyes closed, he was sure when he opened them, Ianto wouldn't be there, like he was only his fantasy.

Jack finally opened his eyes and gazed Ianto up and down: surprised that he hadn't even noticed that he was wearing orange overalls.

"I know. Orange overalls are so my thing." Ianto said sarcastically and smiled when he managed to get a tiny laugh out of Jack.

Gwen wished she could wipe her eyes dry as she watched her boys' reunion. But she hadn't expected it to happen in such a situation, with guns pointing at them at every direction and a man who they all had learned to hate standing in front of them. Still her first concern was Anwen and she wished deeply that Jack hadn't come alone because she couldn't figure a way out of the situation.

"Do we have to force you apart?" Mister Green said towards Jack and Ianto.

Hesitantly Jack stepped away but still kept his hand on Ianto's arm.

"Alright…" He quickly wiped his face dry and stated his words to Mister Green. "What exactly do you want?"

"You haven't figured it out?" Green laughed dryly. "What I want is… _revenge_."

Jack shook his head, smiling back at the man. "Because we ruined your life? I can't see how. You have a huge mansion and by the amount of guards I presume that you still have money."

"Oh, but in that you're wrong, Captain Harkness. I only own this mansion but the money for paying the guards comes from totally different sources."

"Oh yeah? And where is that?"

"From all the people whose lives Torchwood has destroyed." All the color escaped from Jack's face as he recognized the voice. The woman from earlier had returned to the railing.

"You know her?" Ianto asked when he saw Jack's reaction.

Jack looked at him and tried to control his emotions. "Yes, I know her. Ianto, Gwen and Rhys… meet my daughter: Alice Carter."


End file.
